OPIC and Greenlight Planet Partner to Expand Off-Grid Energy Access in the Developing World
February 24, 2016
(OPIC)
WASHINGTON – The Overseas Private Investment
Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. government’s
development finance institution, signed an
agreement with Greenlight Planet to finalize $5
million in OPIC financing to support the
scaling up of Greenlight Planet, Inc, a
provider of affordable off-grid solar energy
systems to homes and businesses across the
developing world. Greenlight Planet’s global
development starts with a passion for
delivering clean, affordable energy to
underserved communities, paired with a
sustainable business and distribution strategy.
Today, they impact 15 million users across 40+
countries.
Greenlight Planet, with its products branded as
Sun KingTM, provides high quality affordable
solar lighting and phone charging devices to
populations living off the electric grid in
emerging markets throughout Asia, Africa, and
Latin America. With this OPIC growth financing,
Greenlight Planet will expand its global
distribution network in Sub-Saharan Africa and
Asia.
“We’re building the world’s largest rooftop
solar consumer base in emerging markets and are
delighted to have OPIC’s expertise on-board.
This financing enables us to massively expand
distribution globally and commercialize a much
demanded pay-as-you-go solution by our
consumers,” says Anish Thakkar, Greenlight
Planet’s CEO and Co-Founder. “We are targeting
an aggressive penetration of 30% of the
off-grid households by 2020.”
“The expansion of off-grid energy solutions at
scale is crucial to bring connectivity,
opportunity, and security to populations that
live away from the grid,” said Elizabeth
Littlefield, OPIC’s President and CEO.
“Greenlight Planet’s strategy draws together
clear development impact goals with a sound
business plan and innovative partnerships to
open up wider distribution. I’m looking forward
to the results of OPIC’s support to them.”
OPIC’s support to Greenlight Planet is a
product of the Portfolio for Impact, an OPIC
financing innovation designed to support
highly-developmental impact investment projects
that, due to size and structure, would
otherwise face difficulty in obtaining
financing.
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